Summer Internships
Applications are now open. Deadline 4 April 2025.
The Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe is committed to widening participation in postgraduate students at the University of Cambridge. Research within the Centre aims to develop a deeper understanding of life, its emergence, and its distribution in the Universe by addressing four questions:
- What are the chemical pathways which led to the origins of life that are compatible with benign conditions for life in different planetary environments?
- How do we characterise the environments on Earth and other planets that could act as the cradle of prebiotic chemistry and life?
- What observational facilities and methods will allow investigation of bodies beyond the Solar System, the remote sensing of their atmospheres and the search for signatures of geological and biological evolution?
- How can philosophical and mathematical concepts refine our understanding of what we mean by life, leading to new interdisciplinary collaborations and modes of scientific enquiry?
What we offer
We are offering 8-week paid research internships to undergraduates currently studying science from underrepresented groups, who wish to consider a research career within the field of Life in the Universe.
We particularly welcome applications from:
- Undergraduates who are Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME)
- Undergraduates who are in the first generation of their family to go to university
- Undergraduates who have been in care or who have been a young carer
- Undergraduates from a low-income background
The programme in 2025 will run from Monday 14 July until Friday 5 September 2025.
Interns are invited to take part in additional events including training on how to apply for postgraduate courses and scientific lectures and seminars.
Interns are paid the Real Living Wage for an 8-week internship, working 35 hours per week, which for 2025 is £557.30 per week. Accommodation will be provided free of charge in Kings College. Intern’s research lab is allocated £500 to contribute to laboratory expenses.
Successful LCLU summer interns will be automatically entitled to a LCLU PhD studentship interview for entry in 2026.
What our interns said about the programme
"Meeting the other interns. Having a big cohort of interns who were researching within the same field as me was awesome. I made a lot of friends and learned a lot about the areas within Astrophysics. I also gained a lot of insight and advice from them about my coming master's years." Summer intern 2023
"This internship reignited my passion for my degree and my subject. It has reminded me what my hard work is for. I'm so grateful that these weeks in Cambridge have reopened the thought of doing a PhD in my mind. The change in myself and my academic aspirations are the highlights of this internship for me. I couldn't be more grateful for that feeling of falling in love with my field again." Summer intern 2023
"I’d like to say thank you to the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe for the amazing opportunity to get involved in research over the summer. My supervisor was very supportive in guiding me through a new field, but also gave me the space to work independently and really enjoy the process. The social events were a great too, especially the painting activity and dessert, which was such a fun way to explore Cambridge and meet other students. Thanks again for such a rewarding experience, I really loved being a part of this." Summer intern 2024
What was a highlight of this internship ?
"I've really enjoyed working with everyone and I'm so grateful for the entire project. I would never have had such an opportunity this summer if any at all. I've learned so many wonderful things that I'll take into my academic career and my life. It was so daunting at first but, I felt very welcomed by everyone. Please continue to give other students this opportunity!" Summer intern 2023
"Gaining valuable experience in a research environment, which has provided me with skills and knowledge that will be beneficial to me in the future. I can now confidently say that I want to pursue a career in research and academia." Summer intern 2023
"Getting to work closely with active researchers in my field and using state-of-the-art equipment." Summer intern 2024
"Becoming familiar with a new research topic to me while strengthening existing skills and practising preparing research away from my home institution." Summer intern 2024
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for LCLU summer internship programme, you must meet the following criteria:
- Have, or expect to have, and be able to prove your right to live and work full time in the UK for the duration of the programme. Right to Work checks will be carried out for successful applicants.
- Have completed or be in the penultimate or final year of undergraduate study.
- Have achieved, or be on track to achieve, a final undergraduate degree grade of a strong 2:1 or 1st in a subject that falls under the LCLU remit. If your transcript shows year-on-year grade progression towards the upper range of a 2:1 or above, we encourage you to apply.
- Have an interest in undertaking a postgraduate research degree (MPhil or PhD) in a LCLU subject.
- Not have already completed, or be currently studying, a postgraduate research degree (e.g. MPhil, DPhil, PhD, etc.) or have an offer to start a postgraduate research degree.
Please see document with full list of criteria.
This programme is not open to applicants who have are at or have previously studied at the University of Cambridge.
Application
In order to be considered for an internship, please apply to admin@lclu.cam.ac.uk by 4 April 2025.
In your email please provide your:
- (a) Full Name, (b) email, (c) home address, (d) nationality including confirmation of right to work in UK, (e) current academic course and expected graduation date, (f) academic transcript, grades, (g) project(s) for which you wish to apply (please see list of proposals below); if more than one is indicated please list these in order of priority.
- CV (no more than 2 pages). CV should include a list of grades for all University courses taken.
- A personal statement: (i) giving your reasons for applying for this internship; and (ii) explaining how you would benefit from this research experience (maximum words 300).
- One academic reference (no more than one page) emailed to admin@lclu.cam.ac.uk no later than the closing date, 4 April 2025.
- Completed online EDI form (this form is a mandatory part of the application process, but contains ‘prefer not to say’ options for all questions asked). The form will be viewed by LCLU management only and will not be forwarded to supervisors.
Please contact admin@lclu.cam.ac.uk for any enquiries.
Proposals
Uncertainty qualification of reaction networks of ozone on Mars
Lead supervisor: Alex Archibald, Department of Chemistry
Co-supervisor: Megan Brown, Department of Chemistry
Research proposal
Atmospheric chemical networks are key for linking the molecules that may be vital for the evolution of life (e.g., HCN and HCHO) to the physical processes in a planets atmosphere. But these networks are complex, involving 100s of coupled ODEs. By solving these equations we can model how the composition of an atmosphere evolves under changes in forcing (emissions or climate). However, uncertainty arises owing to the complexity of the networks and the need to extrapolate the data that are used in them from laboratory conditions to other conditions of T and P. Often this uncertainty is neglected but in this project the summer intern will quantify the magnitude of this uncertainty using ozone on Mars as a case study. Ozone is widely recognised as being important for its role as a climate warming gas and its optical properties – enabling it to modulate the UV flux to the surface. By comparing modelled ozone to observations of Martian ozone the student could then begin to constrain the uncertainty and identify key sources of uncertainty that future work would target.
The origin and evolution of archaeal lipids
Lead supervisor: Claudia Bonfio, Department of Biochemistry
Co-supervisors: David A. Russell, Department of Biochemistry
Research proposal
Background and Objectives
Understanding the formation of early cell membranes is key to unravelling the origins of life. Archaea, one of the earliest domains, possess membranes composed of isoprenoid ether lipids, which differ significantly from the fatty acid-based membranes of bacteria and eukaryotes. However, the prebiotic pathways leading to these archaeal lipids and their functional significance in early protocell membranes remain poorly understood.
This project aims to:
1) Identify plausible prebiotic pathways for the formation of ancestral archaeal lipids.
2) Determine the functional properties these lipids could have imparted to primitive membranes.
These objectives can be pursued independently, providing flexibility in the research approach. Over eight weeks, the student will gain hands-on experience in prebiotic lipid chemistry while generating valuable preliminary data for the research group.
Methodology
1. Prebiotic Synthesis of Archaeal Lipid Precursors
The first stage will investigate the reaction of glycerol with isoprenoid alcohols (farnesol, nerolidol) under conditions relevant to the early Earth. Various catalysts, including clay minerals (e.g., kaolinite, montmorillonite) and oxophilic metal salts (e.g., iron, aluminium), will be screened for their role in promoting glycerol ether bond formation. Reaction products will be analysed using:
- Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) for initial separations,
- High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) for mixture analysis,
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy for product characterisation.
2. Functional Analysis of Model Ancestral Archaea Lipids
In parallel, the student will synthesise model archaea-like lipids using established methods within the research group. These will include:
- glycerol monoethers,
- glycerol diethers,
- ether-based phosphatidic acids.
Each lipid will be purified by column chromatography and characterised by NMR. Their ability to self-assemble into membranes will be assessed via critical aggregation concentration (CAC) assays using fluorescent dyes. Further experiments will investigate:
- Lipid packing and ordering via fluorescence polarisation,
- Membrane surface hydrophobicity and charge using electrochemical and spectroscopic assays,
- Compatibility with fatty acid- or bacterial lipid-based membranes to evaluate potential roles in mixed protocell systems.
Training and Supervision
This project provides an excellent introduction to interdisciplinary research, combining organic synthesis with biophysical characterisation. The student will receive training in:
- Lipid synthesis and purification,
- Analytical techniques (chromatography, mass spectrometry, NMR),
- Membrane biophysics, including lipid self-assembly and lipid packing studies.
Additionally, they will develop critical thinking, communication, and data analysis skills, with mentorship from the group leader and senior lab members.
Expertise and Feasibility
The success of this project is supported by:
- My expertise in prebiotic organic and supramolecular chemistry, bridging lipid chemistry and early membrane evolution.
- The interdisciplinary strength of my research group, which integrates organic synthesis with biological and biophysical approaches.
- Preliminary findings, which confirm the feasibility of synthesising archaea-like lipids.
This research will provide the student with valuable laboratory experience while contributing to our understanding of the emergence of archaeal membranes - an essential step in the origins of cellular life.
Interferometric calibration of extreme-precision radial-velocity spectrographs
Lead supervisor: David Buscher, Department of Physics
Research proposal
The detection of ``Earth twins'' – rocky planets orbiting at radii of order 1au around solar-type stars – will be one of the major stepping-stones in our search for life in the Universe. One of the most promising avenues to make these detections is to use extreme-precision radial-velocity (EPRV) spectrographs to detect the minute (10 cm/s) stellar reflex Doppler signals caused by the Earth twin.
A critical element to obtaining this 10cm/s precision is calibrating the wavelengths of the spectral features used for radial-velocity measurement to better than 1/10,000th of a spectrograph pixel. This project aims to test a new strategy for this extreme precision calibration, involving projection of interferometric fringes on the spectrograph pixels and data analysis of these fringe patterns to derive an extremely accurate map of pixel-by-pixel wavelength variations in the spectrograph.
The project will involve two components (a) a computational component developing software to implement this Bayesian data-analysis strategy and (b) a lab-based component to measure inteferometric fringes in a laboratory spectrograph to test the software. This project will suit students who are happy with both coding data analysis algorithms in Python and in laboratory work, setting up optics and interpreting the resulting data.
The lead applicant is an expert in the analysis of interferometric data and is involved in calibration of the ANDES high-resolution spectrograph.
Factors controlling evolutionary rates: determining the impact of interactions and the environment using evolutionary simulation experiments
Lead supervisor: Emily Mitchell, Department of Zoology
Co-supervisors: Euan Furness, Department of Zoology
Research proposal
The capacity for biological evolution is a principle of life that should be applicable wherever it is found in the universe; as such, understanding the factors that control rates of evolution on Earth should help to understand the factors that control rates elsewhere as well. Variation in the rate of evolution of extraterrestrial life is predicted to have significant impacts on the form that life has elsewhere in the universe (Mitchell & Madhusudhan 2025). Any impact on the form of life present in a system will have effects on the environment and, therefore, on the biosignatures produced by that life that we might expect to observe from Earth.
The rate at which organisms are able to evolve to adapt to their environment is thought, itself, to be a feature under selection during biological evolution (Crow 1994). Rapid evolution is thought to be selected for by higher rates of environmental change, including changes in the biologies of interacting animals in the environment, such as predators (the “Red Queen hypothesis”; van Valen 1973). Responses to the selection pressures could include the evolution of sexual reproduction as a mechanism for increasing genetic diversity, and/or the inhibition of asexual reproduction (Lively et al. 1990). The question remains, therefore: “Under what conditions will evolution be sufficiently rapid to produce complex life?”
These questions cannot typically be addressed through observation or direct experimentation as evolution is very slow. However, simulation studies allow for experimental evolution to be conducted over short timescales through computational methods. In this project, the student will use the pre-existing REvoSim system (Furness et al. 2023) to model rates of evolutionary change in organisms under a range of environmental conditions. REvoSim is a well-documented, pre-existing simulation tool, which has previously shown to be powerful as a tool for studying eco-evolutionary processes occurring within populations (Furness et al. 2024), and which can be used without coding experience.
The project student will use REvoSim to conduct a series of experiments to assess the relative impacts of different environmental (habitat change, ecological interactions, metabolic rate) and reproductive (sexual vs asexual) factors on rates of evolutionary change within species. The student will compare these factors to the environmental conditions present throughout geological history to make inferences about the drivers of ecological change during different time periods.
This project would be ideal for a student who is interested in ecological and/or evolutionary modelling approaches. Knowledge of palaeontology and/or exoplanets is welcome, but is not required. Experience writing code for simulation studies and/or data analysis is desired, but is not required.
How do planets become solid?
Lead supervisor: Oliver Shorttle, Institute of Astronomy and Department of Earth Sciences
Research proposal
The epoch of planetary solidification is a key stage in mass and energy distribution through a planet. Here the primary mass and composition of the planet's atmosphere gets set and, if it can occur, water condenses to form the first oceans lying above the solidified crust of the magma ocean. However, the duration of this planetary cooling can have profound implications for its retention of volatile elements such as water, and it is this duration that we investigate in this project. This project therefore connects closely with the LCLU theme "The cradle of prebiotic chemistry and life"
The Importance of Impactors in Delivering Prebiotic Feedstock Molecules to the Early Earth
Lead supervisor: Richard Anslow, Institute of Astronomy
Co-supervisor: Amy Bonsor, Institute of Astronomy
Research proposal
If we are to determine how life originated on Earth, it is key to assess the viability of various pathways to life. The history of early Earth was dominated by a period of intense bombardment. Many of these impactors are expected to contain many key feedstock molecules required for prebiotic chemistry. This project focuses on the ability of these impactors to deliver key precursor molecules for origins of life scenarios.
McDonald et al., 2025, in prep present simulations of cometary impactors onto a solid, rocky surface, mapping comets’ internal pressure and temperature distributions during hypervelocity impact. McDonald et al., 2025 consider specifically the survival of hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a key feedstock molecule for the cyanosulfidic pathway to life. Anslow et al., 2025 in prep investigate the propensity of HCN to survive impact across a representative population of comets, considering Earth’s bombardment history and the atmospheric evolution of the comets.
In this project, the student will use existing simulations to investigate the effects of both impactor and target composition on the survival of a range of precursor molecules. These results are of relevance not just to Earth, but to other Solar System bodies such as Mars and Ceres. The student will gain experience in both post-processing shock physics simulations, and modelling the survival of key precursor molecules.
Relevant expertise
Richard Anslow and Amy Bonsor have expertise in the impacts of small bodies and the delivery of prebiotic feedstock molecules.